Chapter Thirty-Three
"She was awake!" The flow of sugar into Spencer's coffee abruptly stopped.
"Only for a moment." Ivan explained as he settled himself at the table. "She had a bit to eat and then I excused myself so she could rest."
"You should have woken me!" He startled even himself with the sudden outburst, but his emotions were just too close to the surface to be properly contained.
"You needed your rest as well." Ivan was sympathetic to the longing in the other man's eyes, but it didn't change the fact that, "It has been days since you've slept properly."
"I'm fine" Spencer sighed as he resigned himself to the emotional turmoil that would start his day. "I'd say you are far from it." Ivan easily disagreed. "In fact, I'd say you both are in dire need of an actual physician."
"We've made it this far." The reminder had to be paired with a steadying breath.
"By glory and grace." Ivan praised, there was only so much that could be done with a first aid kit and inexperienced hands.
"We'll make it yet." Spencer swore. He'd been promising so to Ziva for the better part of a week, and he had no intention of going back on his word now.
"Have you any thoughts on what you'll do next?" Spencer's determination had Ivan's mind wandering to the immediate future.
"I just want to get as far away from Voronov as possible. Once I know we're safe, then we can decide exactly what it is that we want to do." In all honesty, he just wanted to head back to "normal" life.
"There is no certainty of safety when it comes to Voronov. It is just a matter of time." Spencer's gaze hardened, but Ivan continued, "Men like him don't cut their losses Spencer. He will find you... unless you find him first." Spencer averted his eyes to the liquid of his mug and ignored the heavy hammering of his heart.
What had he gotten himself into?
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A buzzing across her nightstand had her reluctantly lifting her fuzzy purple eye mask as she deftly reached for the obtrusive object. Neon blue told her it was 3:17 which was more than enough excuse for the dissatisfied groan she offered as she began to read the notification from Adam.
It didn't take more than a few words for her to sit up and reach for the light switch. Apparently, her morning was about to be off to a very early start.
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"Morning" Hotch barely offered in response to Anderson's overly chipper greeting. He just wasn't feeling the good in this particular morning and he was headed to Gideon's office to talk about it. "Jason" He announced his presence with a knock on the open door.
"What's up?" It was inquisitive until Aaron pushed the door closed.
''No, "Conference room in fifteen"?" Every morning at 9:45 Gideon entered the bullpen and made that announcement, you could set your clock by it, only he hadn't the last few days.
"Not today."
"Any particular reason for that?" Aaron made himself comfortable in a chair across the way.
"We haven't gotten much more than advisory requests-desk work. There's no reason to meet up and discuss it." Gideon shrugged.
"What about that string of disembowelments last week? You handed it to Miller."
"It belonged to Miller. It had drugs written all over it." Gideon easily dismissed.
"We could've helped." He was going stir crazy in the backseat they had apparently taken.
"We've got enough on our plate. If I ask this team to spread themselves any thinner, they'll fall right apart."
"This is about Reid, isn't it?"
"I can't force them to stop looking. Not really." Gideon sighed as he let go of his pen to rub his temple. "Besides, I don't think I want them to." Unbeknownst to them, he'd been keeping track of their findings and it honestly seemed like they were beginning to get somewhere.
"Then what are all of these insubordination charges against Morgan?" Office gossip suggested he was trying to make an example of him, but Aaron didn't buy that.
"I'm trying to save his spot on this team. As long as there's an ongoing investigation his position remains secure. Vacation days-suspension days, potato potahto" he waved his hand. "He wanted more time to search. I got him what I could. Hopefully he manages to get something done with his feet on the ground before he's stuck on the sidelines with the rest of us."
"And after? What if they don't find him? What if Morgan refuses to come back after his suspension is lifted?" The whole thing was a mess.
"I'll cross that bridge when we get there." With a sigh Gideon leaned back; the cushion of his chair offering no relief to his discomfort.
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"What are you ladies looking at?" Morgan wondered as he slipped into Garcia's office.
"Who, is the better question sweet cakes." Garcia gleamed. "Adam sent me over Gevlak's hard drive this morning. It didn't have much on it, but your girl managed to scrape up just enough to get some old phone numbers. See, not all people use burner phones, and some that do, still use them incorrectly. They tend to think that if they get rid of the phone or disconnect a number it won't lead back to them, but they don't stop and ask themselves how they used it. I could take a number you disconnected years ago, run it through a loyalty program algorithm I write and ten to one, within the hour I'll have at least one account that number's connected to. All I have to do is click that lovely "Forgot Password" button and it tells me exactly what email they're sending your recovery password to. Once I've got an email" Her brow rose deviously. "With a little luck I'll have your name, social media, new number and your location. By the end of the night that's led me to your IP address and with a little hacking I'm watching you boil spaghetti on your own home security system."
"That's creepy" JJ shuddered.
"Are you saying you found us a lead because someone signed up for coupons?" Derek was confused.
"I'm saying that if the direct approach doesn't work, it just means it's time to get creative. After all, it's nearly impossible to get a new alias without exposing an old alias. Especially if you plan on staying in the same area. The overlap is almost impossible to avoid. The difficulty for me was finding them all and stringing them together in the right order, but I knew if the numbers led to these names, it only stood to reason that one of these names would eventually lead to numbers. Or more specifically accounts. Our fourth unidentified bank account to be exact."
"Whose is it?"
"His name is Ivan Mazzeo" Garcia announced as she brought up a picture. "He's an Italian immigrant, with no notable ties to Mossad. This picture was taken at a banquet event for a children's hospital about a decade ago, but I couldn't find much else on it or him for that matter. He's clean, too clean, which means he probably has professional help and unlike the others, this account doesn't head straight to his ATM. He has it set up for an automatic transfer."
"Can't we follow it?"
"The money is already gone sugar. If we want to go any further down that path, we're going to need nineteen days and about five thousand dollars. Assuming he hasn't heard about Eli's death and closed those accounts already."
"Damn it!" Derek huffed.
"His name and face are a lot more than what we had yesterday." JJ reminded.
"But who is he? Why were they paying him?" He crossed his arms as he leant against her desk to think.
"Well, Gevlak paid them in a cluster, the same way you pay the utilities, which means they're probably related." Garcia offered.
"With three suppliers, what else would you need?" JJ wondered aloud.
"A runner" Derek realized "he's their middleman" JJ's eyes lit with the same understanding. "Ziva would know that" Derek was up and pacing instantly.
"If she and Spence are on their own, best bet says they're headed to him." JJ rationalized.
"If they're not already with him." He offered as he lifted his phone from his belt. "I'm going to see if Tony has anything to offer from his side with Voronov."
"Morgan, wait" JJ stopped him from dialing the familiar number. "How sure are you that NCIS is keeping you as informed as you are them?"
"What do you mean?" and just like that his phone was clipped back to his belt.
"Well, I've been looking through what we've found so far; trying to find a lead to someone who isn't afraid to rub elbows with Mossad. Someone who has enough pull to get Ziva into NCIS with no questions asked. And guess who I found?" JJ lifted the file she and Garcia had been studying before he entered.
"Director Shepard" Morgan sighed "They know about her; they just asked me to give them the courtesy of keeping things in house. Gibbs actually wanted me to see if you two could dig up anything on her in case he needs leverage."
"Oh, I went digging" JJ took his admission in stride "and it turns out, Shepard has a long and questionable history with the Davids, especially Eli."
"Anything we can use?" Derek accepted the file without hesitation.
"In a court of law? No. But in the court of public opinion?" Her head tilted. "A few whispered words and I could have her resignation by end of business tomorrow."
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"Have you seen this man?" Adam held out his newly printed image of Ivan.
"The answer was no yesterday and the answer is still no today."
"The picture was different yesterday" Adam stressed.
"The answer is no" The man behind the register sneered.
"Alright, let me put this a different way." Adam shifted his weight. "I know that you know this man. I know that he comes here for supplies. What I don't know is when he was here last. That is what you are going to tell me."
"I do not know this man and he has not come here."
"Look" Adam sighed. "I admire your loyalty. It speaks volumes about your character, but it is no longer necessary. Dead men don't pay. For the right information though" Adam left the suggestion hanging as he reached for his wallet.
"I do not know this man" the store clerk repeated, but just before Adam could return his wallet to his pocket he continued talking, "anonymity is key in situations of this sort. I receive a lot of orders over the phone, and I do not question the location they are to be delivered."
"Any locations I'd question?"
"I do not know, but for the right price I may be willing to let you see for yourself."
"Name it" swiftly his wallet was opened.
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Exhaustion was first to greet her as her mind entered wakefulness though pain quickly followed. They were a constant. The only companionship she'd had for weeks and oddly enough, they brought her comfort. Unlike hope, they hadn't been crushed, unlike faith, they hadn't been lost. They were still around when anger bowed to resignation and sadness gave way to acceptance. Sturdy they stood on either side as fear lost his fight with fate. Their loyalty never wavering as one by one all other feelings abandoned her. Pain and exhaustion. They were all she could remember, all she seemed to have left, and willingly she'd settled into their embrace.
"Ziva?" An expression that had been relaxed was quickly contorting and it had Spencer cautious as he called out, "Ziva".
"Spencer" Pain and exhaustion, they were mirrored in his eyes, windows to an equally anguished soul.
"Ziva" his heart broke at the emptiness in her expression, his lip quivering as he breathed, "You're awake".
"How long" her mind was slow to finish the thought, but Spencer had apparently heard enough to make a guess. "Today is the sixth day. Ivan told me you were up late last night. I wish you would have woken me."
"I did not wish to disturb you as I was only after water. I returned to bed quickly." Even as she said it a glass was being offered to her.
"You're never a disturbance." He reached for her hand cautiously and when she showed no aversion, he settled his fingers between hers. "I was starting to worry about other possible injuries is all."
That gave her pause. Pain was her state of being. Injury implied that it could be treated. Taken away. Then what would she have? After all she had lost, it was frightening to think of losing anything more. Still, she had something. The fingers between hers reminded her of that. Someone still cared. He had risked everything for her, and she wanted to repay him. His well-being was something she could focus on. "Have you been tended to?"
"Ivan patched us up to the best of his ability, but the sooner I get you to an actual doctor the better I'll feel." He knew that could take a while though. "For now, I'll settle for you drinking your water while I fix you something to eat. Ivan went for more supplies, but I'm sure I can find something."
She took a sip from the glass before admitting, "I'm not very hungry." It was only now that she noticed the shirt she was wearing. It wasn't her own and there was dirt along the side. "I'd rather shower if there is one."
"You have to eat Ziva, at least a little bit so you don't get dizzy in the bathroom. Do you need the bathroom?"
He looked ready to jump to his feet, but she just shook her head no as she took another sip of her water.
"Well, hopefully that changes when you drink a little more. I'm worried about your urine output. You haven't released very much."
The way his gaze dropped to the bed for just a moment had her noting the towels spread out beneath her. There were a few stacked and their purpose dawned on her with a wave of mortification. "On the bed?"
Spencer shrugged dismissively "I never imagined I'd be so happy to get peed on."
"That is repulsive Spencer."
"There was no way of knowing how dehydrated you were Ziva. Not without a physician. All I could do was provide you with water and wait. Urine proves you're not going into renal failure so, yes, I was very happy when you wet the bed. It brought some peace of mind which is much needed seeing as I'm concerned about possible malnourishment as well. You've gotten thinner."
"You're one to talk."
"Stress will do that."
"I'm sorry" her head hung in guilt.
"Don't be" he assured as he pressed a kiss to her hair. "We're together and safe and that's what matters. Weight can be regained, and stress can be relieved. If we continue to have faith in ourselves and each other, we can easily tackle any obstacle. I'm here for you Ziva and I know you'll be here for me."
"I will try." She didn't know if naivety or dedication were fueling his words, but it didn't matter. He was all she had left and selfishly, she would do whatever it took to keep him by her side.
"The only thing I want you to try right now is food. If you promise to be careful, you should be okay to take a shower while I make some."
She nodded her assent, numbness stealing her words as she was helped to her feet and steered to the washroom.
"We don't have much in the way of clothes yet, Ivan should be bringing back something more suitable, but there's another oversized shirt beside the stack of towels" he pulled his own ill-fitting garment back on his shoulder as he pointed to the pile on the shelf. "Wash rags are in the cabinet, and you'll find a toothbrush as well."
"Thank you" He gave her one last glance, perhaps afraid she wasn't as steady as she seemed, before nodding and pulling the door closed. She wanted to lock it, but she was uncertain of her own stability and so she left it alone. Her gaze moved to the mirror though she was hesitant of what she might see.
The last time she had looked in a mirror she had been a bundle of determination, resolute in avenging her sister. Now, she still saw a bundle, but it was all nerves. Her eyes were wild, haunted to the point that she didn't want to look in them, but she'd never been one to run from her fears and now wasn't the time to start. She met and kept her gaze, confronted every shadow that crossed it, until numbness once again gave way to pain, that old familiar friend.
It made her laugh.
She couldn't help it. A soft giggle soon turned into belly chuckles that had her shoulders shaking until she sobbed. Pain. It had breached her very being and tarnished all she knew with its malignancy. It was a constant and yes, that was a comfort, but it was no friend, and she wanted it excised.
She hadn't escaped physically only to be imprisoned mentally.
She would heal, if only because she was too stubborn to do otherwise, and step one was cleansing any traces of captivity from her skin.
E/N: I went back and polished this story up a bit before adding the last chapter. Who knows, maybe I'll even finish it sometime soon.